Before the Covid epidemic reached Malaysia, and before the Agong ignored the result of his personal polling of MLAs as to who enjoyed majority support to be Prime Minister, the Sarawak State government was notorious for misapplication of public funds and permitting its cronies to strip the State of its precious timber resources. In fact, its record over decades was one of corruption, cronyism and total disregard of the interests of most Sarawakians.

Now it has gone further; much further. With the arrival of coronavirus in the State it might have been expected that the State government, however incompetent and however dishonest, would make maximum efforts that Sarawakians confined to their dwellings and unable to travel to obtain basic food would be protected from starvation by their own government.

Not so, it appears, as distribution of aid seems to have been mainly directed to supporters of the GPS state government. A state government which had recently defected to support the illegitimate federal PN “government” which remains without authority even if it boasts a leader suffering from serious health problems and an inappropriate golf habit ill suited to emergency times. And these are emergency times whether PN/GPS chooses to recognise that or not.

So native people in Sarawak may die from lack of food; and that will happen.  If things go on as they are the calls for the heads of State leaders will grow louder and become irresistible.  Or do GPS think that come election time they can, as always in the past, buy the electorate. Would you vote for a person who had starved your family and friends to death?